Claudio Cavicchi: Bologna 2022 Smooth Captain Warren Tobacco Pipe

Since 2018, Claudio Cavicchi has released the Bologna series in some form, historically being collaborations with Claudio Albieri, though for 2022, Cavicchi has taken on the line as a solo venture. Comprising a singular shape, this iteration of the limited edition release is a shape that's not only very seldom seen in in the pipe world, being most well-represented by Savinelli and Ser Jacopo, but that Claudio himself had never made before now: the Captain Warren Calabash. What separates this style of pipe from the standard Calabash is both that the bowl insert itself must be made of the same material that the rest of the stummel is made from, in this case briar, and in many cases the lower portion of the bowl's body features a heel that descends past the transition. There's some difficulty here, especially if the two parts are to be made from the same block of burl, but Cavicchi has taken it a step further by securing the insert to the condensation chamber via briar threads, a feat of craftsmanship. In addition, Cavicchi has made these pipes strikingly large, with bulbous bowls nearly two inches tall and almost two and a half inches wide, creating a Ball-like handful of a pipe that's extremely comfortable in the hand. The shank is short and straight, pushing out from the aft's wide transition, pairing a sleek saddle stem to the pipe to keep all of the visual weight directly on the bowl. The threads which lock the inserted briar into place are tight and smooth, and a pair of small white dots allow for easy indexing when screwing it on, though these don't align when the insert is fully screwed in. Dressed in one of Cavicchi's signature honey-blonde stains, this pipe showcases stunning grain throughout, with flame grain wrapping around the bowl as birdseye dominates the top and underside.